Bill Leeb
Bill Leeb performing in 2016
Bill Leeb performing in 2016
Background information
Birth nameWilhelm Anton Leeb
Also known asBill Leeb, Wilhelm Schroeder[1]
Born (1966-09-21) 21 September 1966 (age 57)[2]
Vienna, Austria
OriginVancouver, British Columbia, Canada
GenresIndustrial, electronica
OccupationsMusician, songwriter, composer, record producer
InstrumentsVocals, synthesizer, sampler, percussion
Years active1984–present
LabelsKK, Dossier, Third Mind, Wax Trax!, Roadrunner, Cleopatra, Off Beat, Metropolis, Dependent, Zoth Ommog
Websitehttp://www.mindphaser.com

Wilhelm Anton "Bill" Leeb (born 21 September 1966,[2] in Vienna, Austria) is an Austrian-Canadian[3] electronic musician and record producer. He is best known for being a founding member of the industrial music group Front Line Assembly and Delerium.[4] Additionally, Leeb is known for his work with groups such as Noise Unit, Intermix, and Skinny Puppy, among others.[5]

Career

Leeb began his musical career with industrial band Skinny Puppy in 1985 under the pseudonym Wilhelm Schroeder,[1] contributing bass synth and occasional backing vocals to a few of their recordings and concerts. He left in 1986 and formed his own industrial project Front Line Assembly with Michael Balch, and later Rhys Fulber[6] and Chris Peterson. Though Front Line Assembly has had consistent underground success, Leeb's most widely known efforts are through his side project Delerium, which had a major hit in the late 1990s with "Silence".[5] Leeb composed the soundtrack to the 1999 video game, Quake III Arena, of which the expansion pack, Team Arena, was composed by his band, Front Line Assembly.

In 2017, Leeb appeared as guest singer on the single A Shiver of Want, a release of John Fryer's project Black Needle Noise.[7]

In 2022, Leeb contributed vocals for Black Asteroid's single Methane Rain.[8]

Musical projects in which Bill Leeb has participated in include:

Dispute with Trent Reznor

In an interview with music magazine Spin in 1992, Trent Reznor of Nine Inch Nails made derogatory remarks about Front Line Assembly, calling them "a textbook case of a band" for industrial music and their music "monotonous, boring, uninspired bullshit".[9] Before the release of the issue, Reznor sent Leeb an apology letter. Spin printed the letter, along with a letter from Leeb dismissing the notion that Reznor was "leading the industrial revolution in music"[10] in one of their following issues.

Acting

In 1990, Leeb appeared in the trailer for the horror movie Chunk Blower together with Dwayne Goettel from Skinny Puppy,[11] playing one of the victims of a killer. Due to the lack of funding, the movie was never made.[12] Director Jim Van Bebber and Leeb would later use footage from the trailer in the video for the single "Virus".

Personal life

Leeb has both Austrian and Canadian citizenship and speaks English as well as German. He received education at a convent school in Austria where he learned to play the violin. He moved to Kitimat, British Columbia, Canada with his family when he was 14, where he learned English and developed a keen interest in music.[13][14] He was a high school student at Mount Elizabeth Secondary School.[15] Leeb went to Camsoun College in Victoria, British Columbia to study journalism for two years.[15] He lives in Vancouver.

Leeb was married to the Canadian artist Carylann Loeppky.[16] Loeppky was part of the tour personnel on Front Line Assembly tours "designing and selling merchandise and put together a visual presentation for the live performance."[16] She continued to create artwork for albums of Delerium.[17]

References

  1. ^ a b Leeb, Bill (8 May 2013). "Bill Leeb (musician)". RAD1Radio (Radio).
  2. ^ a b Bauer, Henrik (24 March 2004). "Mindphaser > People > Bill Leeb > Biography". Mindphaser.com. Archived from the original on 2 January 2005. Retrieved 27 August 2014.
  3. ^ Raven, Daniel (2 June 2011). "Front Line Assembly Leads Cyborg Armies Through Post-Apocalyptic Soundscapes". Phoenix New Times. Voice Media Group. Archived from the original on 21 October 2014. Retrieved 24 August 2014.
  4. ^ Ankeny, Jason. "Front Line Assembly Biography". Allmusic. allmusic.com. Retrieved 13 October 2016.
  5. ^ a b Huey, Steve. Bill Leeb: Artist Biography by Steve Huey at AllMusic. Retrieved 17 October 2014.
  6. ^ Humberstone, Nigel (January 1995). "Bill Leeb: Front Line Assembly". Sound on Sound. Cambridge, United Kingdom: SOS Publications Group. Retrieved 17 October 2014.
  7. ^ Palfrey, Sean (3 May 2017). "Review: Black Needle Noise w/ Bill Leeb – 'A Shiver Of Want'". Intravenous Magazine. Retrieved 4 December 2018.
  8. ^ Teeple, Alice (17 May 2022). "Black Asteroid Debuts New Single "Methane Rain" Featuring Front Line Assembly". post-punk.com. Retrieved 17 December 2023.
  9. ^ Greer, Jim (March 1992). "Nine Inches of Love". Spin. Vol. 7, no. 12. New York City: Camouflage Associates. p. 41. ISSN 0886-3032. OCLC 970690651. Retrieved 8 May 2021.
  10. ^ "Point Blank: Letters: Pretty Hate Mail". Spin. Vol. 8, no. 3. New York City: Camouflage Associates. June 1992. p. 12. ISSN 0886-3032. OCLC 970690651. Retrieved 8 May 2021.
  11. ^ Hall, Oliver (14 January 2016). "'Chunk Blower', the unfinished horror movie starring members of Skinny Puppy". Dangerous Minds. Retrieved 11 May 2021.
  12. ^ Alexander, Chris (January 2014). "The Politic Spasmolytic". Fangoria. No. 329. Atlanta: The Brooklyn Company. p. 54. ISSN 0164-2111. OCLC 46637019. Retrieved 11 May 2021.
  13. ^ Leeb, Bill (23 November 2016). "Bill Leeb talks about Front Line Assembly, Delerium and more". Altvenger Magazine (Interview). Interviewed by Marija Buljeta. Retrieved 25 March 2024.
  14. ^ Leeb, Bill (21 August 2013). "Front Line Assembly (Bill Leeb) Interview". dsoaudio.com (Interview). Interviewed by Rob Dyer. dsomedia. Retrieved 8 August 2016.
  15. ^ a b Leeb, Bill (1999). "Q&A with Bill Leeb". Outburn (Interview). Interviewed by Rev. Moose. Thousand Oaks, California.
  16. ^ a b Loeppky, Carylann (12 November 2006). "Morpheus Music Interview - Carylann Loeppky". Morpheus Music (Interview). Archived from the original on 22 October 2014. Retrieved 17 October 2014.
  17. ^ Carylann Loeppky at AllMusic. Retrieved 17 October 2014.

Further reading

Categories